Is fear of tobacco causing E-cigs to get unfair treatment?

Is fear of tobacco causing E-cigs to get unfair treatment?

Is it possible that E-cigs get a worse rap than they deserve because they remind so many people of tobacco use? After all, it wasn’t that long ago that humankind was ‘blindsided’ by the news that tobacco causes cancer.

Many people are quick to remember that cigarettes were, at one time, hailed as healthy and almost holistic. Since they were made with a natural plant, they were at least better for you than they were worse, right?

Of course, this ideology, while perhaps understandable, has since proven to be quite false. When the big news finally came out that cigarettes had been linked to lung cancer, many people were left shocked. Then, what began as a shocking revelation soon turned into a major public health concern, which spawned a fairly major effort on the part of many health agencies to get cigarettes out of the mouths of users.

Again, this is fairly understandable. If you can cut cigarette use, than you can cut the incidence of lung cancer and other negative health problems associated with the habit.

This effort has continued to this day. Now, unless you are a member of the dwindling group that actually supports cigarette use, you are probably of the mindset that cigarettes would be better off unused. This is more complicated than it sounds, of course, as many people enjoy their tobacco habit and find it very difficult to quit. Cigarettes are definitely addictive due to the nicotine-content, though nicotine itself is not necessarily dangerous in small amounts.

But is it possible that the fear of tobacco has impacted our treatment of electronic cigarettes?

For years we have been almost programmed to react in a certain way when we hear that someone is ‘smoking’. If it is a minor, we immediately call for some kind of reform to keep cigarettes out of the hands of young people.

If it is an adult, we immediately talk about how dangerous tobacco use is and about how they should try to find a way to quit. Of course, this is all still completely understandable. Tobacco is, after all, very dangerous when lit on fire and inhaled into the lungs.

E-cigs have been shown over and over again to pose far less risk than tobacco-filled cigarettes. They do contain nicotine, but they do not emit tar, carbon monoxide, smoke, or ash. Even complete opponents of E-cigs will admit that they seem to be far, far less dangerous than cigarettes.

Of course, we don’t know everything about E-cigs yet, but they have been around for a good decade now and we still don’t really have any information leading us to believe that they are anywhere near as dangerous as their analog counterparts.

Do E-cigs get fair treatment?

So this is my big question. Are E-cigs really getting fair treatment, or are they getting thrown into the same hole that we have reserved for cigarettes? Could it be possible that we have been so sensitized to the dangers of tobacco that we are now lashing out at E-cigs out of fear before we give them logical, reasonable scrutiny?

E-cigs have the potential to help millions quit smoking. This is a device that could save hundreds of thousands—if not millions—of lives. And yet, the majority of the world has reacted in fear. They are telling smokers and vapers alike to ‘quit vaping and smoking’. This is understandable to a point, but is it really doing any good? We have been telling smokers not to smoke for years. And yet, despite our best efforts, cigarettes continue to sell and young people continue to get addicted to them.

Maybe we should be saying ‘try using E-cigs to quit smoking’. E-cigs offer a very similar experience, but cut health risks by drastic amounts. Not only that, but quitting E-cigs might actually be much easier than quitting cigarettes. With E-cigs, you could dial back the nicotine until you were vaping nicotine-free E-liquid. This is not something that is as easy to do with cigarettes.

And now, with new E-cig regulations waiting just around the corner for implementation in 2016, E-liquid will be even safer because it will require companies to supply a thorough record of what they are putting into it.

It would seem that there is definitely a possibility that fear is causing E-cig opponents to ignore the possibility that the devices could do very good things for public health. Maybe we should be encouraging vaping instead of acting so cautiously? Maybe we should stop focusing on the fact that they are relatively new and simply discuss the fact that no definitive proof of real harm has been unveiled in regard to the devices?

Hopefully, as more information comes to light, people will realize that E-cigs may definitely have a helpful, positive place in our world, and that they are not necessarily something that anyone (especially ex-smokers) should be afraid of.

About The Author

NicoleIt's my passion to do the research about familiar to me topics, especially when it comes to electronic cigarettes and the whole vaping industry as such. I hope you will find my content useful and when / if you do - please do share it! I will appreciate it! :) See our ''Who We Are'' page to find out more about me and my colleagues. Thanks and I look forward to your comments and feedback.